Kirkwall Blankets Suck
by SyringaGirl
Summary: M!Hawke/Fenris – just a short little piece of fluff. I'd gone to bed after sitting for too long and getting cold, couldn't sleep and wrote this instead ... I imagine Hawke lets the same thing happen from time to time. Enjoy.


Garrett shivered as he stood waiting for the water in the copper kettle to boil so he could have a cup of tea. He rubbed his eyes, trying to decide how tired he was and remarked on how cold his nose had become as well. Pulling the thin blanket he'd wrapped around his shoulders a little bit tighter, he cursed that there was no fire in the kitchen either and he was forced to wait for one of Sandal's warming stones to do its thing. It was too bad those stones only seemed to work on water.

He had carelessly let the fire in the library die out while he'd become lost in a new book. It was now very very late, and he'd failed to notice how cold he'd gotten sitting in the library alone; even Uno had trotted off to bed on his own quite some time ago. He thought to himself that lounging on the settee directly under the window, and probably a draft, hadn't helped his situation much either. He poured a, lukewarm at best, cup of water over some lemon and ginger slices and headed upstairs. The rest of the household had long since gone to sleep and, he assumed, thankfully wouldn't have noticed how cold it had become. Now he was shuffling up to bed hoping he could find enough covers to cocoon himself under and not come out again until spring.

The winters in Kirkwall were nothing like the ones back home. They were milder here and more rain than Garrett liked. He really did miss the snow. _If it was going to be cold, there aught to be snow _he though. Winters in Ferelden were quite cold but, sun shining on freshly fallen, bright white snow was one of Garrett's favourite memories.

The last few days here in Kirkwall had been unseasonably cold. High winds rattled the windows of the estate and seemed to suck the fireplace heat straight out of the chimney flues. He was dreading going to his room. There would be no fire and what passed for blankets in Kirkwall were thin and usually knitted... _full of holes_, he thought. Garrett closed his eyes for a moment and remembered being under piles furs and soft flannel blankets. Oh to be curled up in a soft bed, under all those furs, fresh winter air and sunshine pouring in through a small open window. He sighed out loud as he pushed open the door to his bed chamber.

He was surprised to find there was a fire, low, glowing in his room. Perhaps Orana had seen fit to provide him one before she went to bed. The air in the room was just a little bit warmer than downstairs, and for that Garrett was extremely grateful. He set his cup of tea on the mantel and set about getting ready for bed. Garrett stripped off his fine clothes and tossed them on the floor, trying to keep the blanket around his now mostly bare self, as much as possible.

He turned to his bed and saw the lump of blankets and covers piled up on the opposite side. _Damn dog_ he thought, "How many times do I have to tell you..." Garrett pushed at the mass and it fell off the side of the bed, landing with a light thump. "No sleeping _in_ the bed Uno. You can curl up at the foot of the bed or go sleep with Sandal if... you..."

Garrett's words trailed off as he heard an groggy moan come from the floor lump. _That's...not...Uno_.

Garrett climbed over the mattress on his hand and knees, blanket still clinging to his back, and looked over the far edge. _Snow _was his first though at seeing the top of Fenris' head below him. The elf was sat cross legged on the floor, surrounded by blankets looking up at the bewildered Hawke.

"He's already tucked up with Sandal, Hawke," said Fenris, somewhat sleepily. "I on the other hand, have been waiting for you to finish that damned book and come to bed." Fenris' voice was a bit deeper than normal, having just been abruptly woken up and the sound of it made Garrett shiver for an entirely different reason than the cold.

"Fenris..." was all that Garrett could mange. His gaze lingering on the elf's half bare torso exposed from all those blankets.

Hooded green eyes looked up at him and smiled. "Unless you'd prefer it if _I_ curled up at the foot of your bed instead of in it," said Fenris.

"I am so sorry Fenris," said Garrett, stammering a little. He reached out his hand to help Fenris to his feet. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to start a fire and have it turn to embers," said Fenris. "Good book?"

"Very," Garrett's confusion had quickly turned to delight at his lover's presence. "But, I think I like this ending much better."

"I did stand in the doorway of the library a while but, you didn't notice. I thought..." Fenris got to his feet, trying to bring the mess of covers with him, "I... I hope this isn't...if I should go..."

"Mmmm, nope." Garrett pulled Fenris back onto the bed. Kneeling, he reached up and placed a hand on the elf's warm face.

"It's the wind-" said Fenris.

Garrett stopped Fenris' protesting with a small kiss on the lips, "Uh-huh..." he smiled.

"Yes, it's very cold tonight and-"

Garret kissed him again, a little harder, a little longer.

"-and the mansion is rather drafty," Fenris continued when Garrett let him go from their embrace.

"And are my stone walls and blankets the only things you thought to keep you warm tonight?" Garrett was teasing, biting his bottom lip.

"Hmm," said Fenris, he leaned forward and wrapped a part of his blankets over Garrett's shoulder. "Perhaps not _just_ that."

Garrett was grinning madly and suddenly found himself very warm indeed. "I'm glad you're here Fenris," he said.

Fenris reached up and tucked a piece of his lover's hair behind the man's ear, "As am I," he said. He kissed Garrett and wrapped his arms around him, "But Hawke," he said. "Maker take you if you touch me with those cold feet of yours."

...


End file.
